A Shadow's Eve
by MikoNoNyte
Summary: Post Shadow Hearts 1 story with Alice and Yuri. A little spook for your Samhain.


A Shadow's Eve

Disclaimer: I do not own Shadow Hearts, so no lawyers, please!

* * *

In the fall, the sun set quickly, especially in the Alps. A cold chill slid down the mountains toward Zurich accompanied by fog and a cold rain. The drops of water struck the leaves of the trees and pelted forest floor, the ground covered with needles and mulchy leaves and now, traces of mud. Beside one tall oak whose gnarled branches fluttered with the last of its brown leaves and galls stood a young man, his own brown coat pulled close around him as he paused in the pelting rain.

"God damn," he muttered and his voice told of a language not known to this forest. He leaned back against the cold bark, the hard surface of the ancient oak pressing against him and reminding him of the bed he had slept in last night; the cold camp with his torn blanket and that damned rock inconveniently placed to strike his spine just so. Shifting his shoulders, he rubbed his back with one hand, trying to work out the kinks, then rolled his head from side to side until he heard the crack and felt the pressure in his joints loosen, bringing a sigh to his lips.

"At this rate, I'll be here 'til spring," he grumbled and cast about for shelter. Around him rose an old-growth forest of oak and pine, deep branches of evergreen shadowing the nearby forest paths, with small slips of trails leading deeper into the Alps and one sliding down toward Zurich. There were bundles of bracken and bushes scattered around the base of the trees, and an occasional fall of half-broken timber, but nowhere a place to get out of the cold and rain.

"Damn."

---

Alice pulled the sitting room curtain aside once more, peering out into the darkening street, her delft blue eyes trying to spot a familiar figure moving in the fog. Yuri had left two days ago, promising to return tonight, and now, with the weather turning cold and wet, she worried for him. _It wasn't as if he couldn't take care of himself_, she thought, but it seemed that wherever the young harmonixer went, trouble followed snapping at his heels.

"You're ruining the curtains, Alice," her mother said from the doorway and Alice let the curtains fall closed. "He will return when he chooses, daughter, and nothing you do will change that," the Reverend Misses Elliot stated and Alice turned as her mother wheeled in the tea cart. She went to help her, pulling it beside the chairs set at the fireplace and let her mother sit while she prepared the tea.

"I know Mother; I'm sorry."

Her mother tsked as she took her seat, and Alice could feel the air in the room growing chill. _Here it comes_, she thought.

"I do wish you had chosen someone more... more reputable, less vulgar," her mother said softly and Alice felt her shoulders hunch with tension.

"Yuri's not that bad, Mother. He's a bit rough around the edges, but he's a good man." Alice poured the tea and offered a cup to her mother before sitting in the other chair opposite her. She balanced her own cup and saucer on her knee, her eyes delving into the amber brown depths of the brew.

_I do wish he had told me where he was going, _she thought_. He said he was taking a quick job for Reverend Maubaunt, to get money_. They had spent so much of their ready cash before going up to Neam that by the time they had left Paris they were broke. _Of course, he bought me that ring too, and we did spend so much time just enjoying ourselves. Yuri never once mentioned he was low on cash and I..._ her thoughts brought a tinge to her cheeks. _I never gave it a second thought. How shameful of me!_

"Alice?" her mother asked, catching the sudden flush of her daughter's cheeks. "Are you ill?"

Alice shook her head, one silver tendril escaping her bow. "No Mother. I was just thinking how shamefully I had behaved, spending our money and now Yuri is out trying to make up for it."

Her mother nodded, her own silver blonde hair tied up neatly in a bun at the nape of her neck. "It's good that you recognize that," she said and sipped her tea. _Now if only you would recognize that your young man is not the sort that a reverend's daughter should consort with_, she thought. _Why, there must be a dozen young men more socially placed who would take your hand in proper wedlock._

Silence surrounded them as Alice held her teacup and thought of Yuri while her mother thought of Alice and neither spoke again for a long time.

---

The crack of thunder brought Yuri out of his standing doze. He had not moved from the oak, letting its cold hard surface anchor him in the dark, but now the brilliant flash of lightening overhead and the resounding boom of thunder brought him to his feet. There was no way he would remain at the base of that old oak now, he thought. _Momma didn't raise no dummy_, he told himself as he pushed away and, pulling the trench coat collar high around his neck, headed down the forest trail. He still remembered the tales his father used to tell midwinter, when the snow piled high around their home and no one could come or go for the storms. His father would hunch down by the fire, and Yuri, his own feet tucked tightly under him, would listen with wide-eyed wonder and fear as his father would tell him scary stories. He especially remembered the one where lightening had struck the village elder, rendering him to a skeletal figure of bones and tattered flesh, hobbling through the village crying for his lost rice beer. Or the time that wild devil cats had escaped from the caves beyond the Wall, ripping and shredding their way through Mulan, leaving dead bodies and rotting corpses in their wake. But the best one was the zombie ghost of Fengtian!

"The old Manchu had declared the leper dead, making the villagers bury his rotting corpse deep into the ground. But the elder forgot that the only way to inter lepers is to burn them, turning their ashes with rice beer and lime and then burying it deep in the ground." His father paused to drink of his own cup of beer and his mother, her red-hair burnished in the firelight, shook her head.

"Must you, Jin?" she asked but his father chuckled, waving it aside.

"No harm done," he said and continued his tale. "The leper had, of course, risen from the grave, a trail of rotting and putrescent flesh telling the tale of his wandering. And when they caught up to him, what do you suppose had happened to the fetid old fart?" his father asked and Yuri shook his head, his eyes as wide around as saucers. "Why, his body had all rotted away and each piece had turned into a crow or magpie, and they rose into the cold night air, screeching and squawking their cries of blood and revenge, while the old bones tottered and teetered until they fell to the ground like I Ching sticks. And the next moment, the villagers all faced the horror of the leprous old man now back as a haunting ghost, eerie cries of wail and gloom following them back to their village as fast as their legs would take them."

By now, Yuri's heart was beating so hard his chest hurt and, and when the snow on their roof suddenly sloshed and fell with a noisy crash, Yuri stood up, screaming, his eyes round with horror and his fists clenched in terror. His mother bundled him close to her breast, his own heaving chest panting with terror and his father sat chuckling in his hands by the fire.

Yuri smirked at the thought of his father's ghost stories. _He always had me ready ta pee my pants_, he thought, _an' mom was ready to skin him alive, but _damn_! he told a good yarn!_

Squinting, the rain running down his face in cold runnels, Yuri stumbled his way along the trail, tripping over hidden roots and rocks in the foggy darkness. Ahead the trail lead into a clump of brush, and with one hand he fished around in the spiny branches and leaves for an opening, but found none.

"Shit, I'll have to go around."

He squinted up into the rainy darkness and huffed in disgust before leaving the trail and pushing his way through the trees of the forest. Low-hanging branches slapped at him, splattering water down his front and inside his coat, soaking his already wet clothes. Roots reached out and snatched at his boots, tangling briars and burrs into his bootstraps, and nipping and tearing at his pant legs, while bits of the sky, both wet and sloppy, fell from above and spattered his back. It ran in cold, sticky streams inside his collar, down the inside of his coat and slipped in past his belts to tickle the hairs on his legs on their chilling path to his boots. Each step brought him deeper into the woods, and each step brought him a little closer to screaming misery, until something dark and hard reached out from the tree roots and snatched his foot, catching him and tripping him. Down he fell, twisting upon his shoulder, turning to confront the thing in the darkness, but it slithered away. Yuri backed up quickly, jumping to his feet, back hunched and fists ready to punch whatever came at him from the foggy wetness. His ears strained, his brows furrowed, eyelids blinking away the rain-blurred vision to catch movement, motion, anything in the area. His heart beat steadily and he felt the pulse in his chest once, twice, thrice before sighing and standing up.

"Damn," he muttered. "Just tree roots." Yuri shook his shaggy head, sending water spattering into the dark, and leaving his dark hair hanging in soggy tendrils across his face and neck. He shrugged at the wet and turned around again to forge his path back down the mountain.

---

Alice set the candle on her vanity table, the feeble yellow light making her room look old and withered. She caught her reflection in the little makeup glass and gasped at the ghostly appearance she made. Her night rail was long and billowy with lace at collar and cuff, but the material was pristine white, and Alice suddenly realized how deathly it made her look in the candle light.

"Yuri would hate this," she said softly and smiled, but the humor did not reach her eyes and she saw that in the little glass. She sat at the vanity and pulled at the ever-present ribbon that bound her braids and began to untie them, strand by strand until the long silver locks tumbled into her lap. With her brush, she began to stroke her hair, brushing out the twists of the braids and the loose tendrils, smoothing the long hair until it shined. And with each stroke she watched herself in the mirror, the little candle flickering sallowly and her eyes open wide, seeing but not seeing her reflection in the glass. Her mind seemed to wander as she brushed, each gentle stroke on her long hair bringing her thoughts further away, to her mother in the next room, to her father's grave in the nearby churchyard; to her fiancé out lost in the dark and to a story her father once told her of magicks done by primitive peoples involving hair.

"They would plait their hair," he had told her one time as they traveled by train, "and with each plait they would mutter a spell, a curse, sometimes even a prayer. _Three knots for three curses, three curses for one man, let each knot be thy undoing_... that sort of thing." Alice, listening with the intensity of youth, wondered if that was possible.

_He's out there alone,_ she thought. _Away from me. Alone in the dark. I know he can take care of himself. He's strong, he's a fighter; he won't give up. But... he's _**alone**_. What if he needs help? What if he's hurt?_ Each stroke of the brush brought her thoughts deeper and deeper, and she could feel the tug of her feelings for Yuri with each tug of her hair. _Dear God..._stroke_...Holy Father, look after him... _stroke_... Protect him from evil..._stroke_... carry him in the bosom of your Sacred Heart... _stroke_... and bring him home safely._ After the last stroke of the brush, Alice rose, taking up the candle and going to her bed. The candlelight flickered and danced as she moved and then turned her shadow into a giant black spectre on the far wall as she bent to turn down the bedding. Ignoring it, Alice climbed in and pulled the blankets up to her chin, tucking them tightly. As she did so, she breathed a silent prayer again for Yuri's safe return.

---

Yuri wished he had some idea where the hell he was. He stumbled and slipped his way down the trail in the foggy, rainy dark until he lost his footing and slid over an embankment, coming to rest in a gully sloshing with cold, muddy water. Jumping quickly to his feet, he stood knee-deep in the cold water and looked around, his amber eyes slitted to mere slashes on his face. He scanned to his left and the short fall that had lead him to this wet mess, seeing the straggles of forest roots over-shooting the ledge. He was lucky it had been such a short fall, he knew, but looking further afield, he could see only a close meadow that would have been lovely in spring, but now was brown with death. With a snort, he climbed the opposite bank of the gully, only a short distance, and stood to shake the water from his body like a dog. It was only after he'd stood up once more that he spotted the shadow within the shadows of the forest.

"What the-?" he scanned the area again but could no signs of life so he went forward with a shrug. What his eyes had spotted in the overhang of the forest, dripping and wet with rain, was an old cabin. As he approached, he could see it was dilapidated, falling into wrack and ruin, its once clean walls now tumbled down and full of rot. He went closer, kicking aside an old wooden wheel and other debris until he could reach the door. It too was rotten, hanging crookedly on rotten hinges, and he pushed his way in, the soggy squeal of wet wood piercing the air as the hinges gave way.

"What a dump," he muttered as he stepped over household flotsam in the main room. A fireplace stood to one side, the chimney having caved in, taking half the roof with it, but just past another doorway he spotted a potbelly stove and so tried there. But the room, once a cozy kitchen, was as wrecked as the rest of the house and, with neither dry wood nor tinder, Yuri resigned himself to being cold in the dark.

"Ah, at least I can stay out of the rain."

That in itself was a blessing, and Yuri took the opportunity to explore the old shack for a few minutes, rummaging for anything salvageable. He came up with a rotten blanket covered with mould and dark stains. Yuri sniffed it but shrugged when his nose came back with smells of age and death. He tucked it under one arm and continued to check the rest of the rooms. The room past the main one proved to be a bedroom and, from the size of the bed, Yuri guessed it was for the adults. A smaller room led off of that with a child's bed, but both rooms were totally destroyed: furnishings, curtains, chests and clothing all tumbled together into the middle of each room and were covered with a wet stain that Yuri knew was the stain of old blood.

"I pity the people here," he said under his breath. "They wouldn't stand a chance against what did this." Finding nothing else of use, Yuri returned to the kitchen and took a seat on the floor next to the old stove and, covering his head with the ratty blanket, he hunched down to sleep.

Sleep muzzying his mind and water settling in his ears, Yuri did not hear the sounds coming from the other room until a wolf, howling in the woods, sent out a call that had his hackles rising in alarm. Suddenly awake, he pulled the bit of blanket from his head and looked around. The room was still dark, and outside was no better. The fog had settled low on the ground, and the rain still ran in rivers down the walls. Listening to the night calls outside, he finally heard the little sound coming from beyond the kitchen. It sounded like crying, sniffles and tears and a hiccup and Yuri frowned. _What the hell kinda of animal sounds like that?_ he wondered.

He rose silently, tense muscles protesting, and slipped through into the family room. Again, there was the little sound, like sniffling, and Yuri frowned. It sounded like a child, but he knew that some small animals could sound just the same and wondered if some fox kit was stuck below the floorboards. When he got to the small bedroom, again he paused to listen, squatting down on his haunches, his head tilted. He waited for long minutes and was about to give up, when another sniffle sounded, and this time it was followed by scuffling noises. Looking around, Yuri spotted a small door he had overlooked, and immediately went to pull it open. It led to a small closet, and hidden in the dark at the bottom, was the sniffler.

"Hey you, you all right?" he asked and reached down to touch the barely visible form. Soft hair met his fingers, thin and delicate, and Yuri knew it had to be a child. He knelt down and took the child's shoulder, pulling it toward him. Cloth slid against the floor, and his ears caught the weak scrabbling sounds as the child tried to escape, but then he had a firm grip on the shoulder and a small form emerged from the darkness.

"Hey there, here you are," he said softly. "Nothing ta be afraid of. I'm Yuri," he pulled the small child out and settled it at his knees; dirt and grime covered the small form whose clothing was torn and wet. "Gee, you must be cold. Here," he quickly removed his own coat and slipped it carefully around the child's small shoulders, dwarfing and nearly smothering the youngster. Then standing, he picked up the small bundle and headed back for the kitchen pausing only long enough to glance out the battered front door.

"Damn, will it ever stop raining?" he said but didn't wait for an answer from the child. Once back in the kitchen he set the child on the floor where he had been sleeping and pushed back the collar of his coat. Eyes squinting to see, he ran one hand over the hair and face, wiping away the dirt. "Shit, yer a girl!" he exclaimed when the small heart-shaped face emerged under his fingers. "What's your name, girl?"

Small rounded eyes looked up at him and he caught a glint of blue, his heart suddenly thudding hard in his chest until he blinked and saw green eyes.

"B-Bernice, sir," the child said, her voice accented with the sounds of Germany. Yuri nodded.

"I'm Yuri. You from around here? Where are yer folks?"

The little girl shook her head and a sudden look of fear clouded her visage. Yuri tsked and sat down next to her.

"Look, you don't have to tell me if you don't wanna. We can sit here 'til the sun comes up and then head for town. My lady can help ya," he said and a grin suddenly warmed his face, brightening his eyes. The little girl gasped.

"My parents are dead," she said quietly. "The monsters got them."

"Monsters?" Startled, Yuri looked around the small kitchen, his hackles rising in anticipation, but when nothing appeared, he settled down next to the child. "You had me goin' there for a minute. We'll get you back to Zurich in the morning," he said. The child, deciding that Yuri was acceptable, wrapped his coat closer around herself and leaned into him, and Yuri obliged with one arm around her shoulders.

_Imagine living here alone with yer parents dead_, he thought. _Okay, I don't have to, but still… she's a brave little thing. I cried my eyes out. _

Soon they were both sleeping, the little girl snuggled close to Yuri and, much as he tried to keep one eye open, it ended up being one ear as sleep beckoned. Sometime later, he roused to a small hand tugging at his arm.

"Mister? Mister?"

Yuri looked down at the little eyes peering up at him and rubbed his stiff neck. "What is it? You have a bad dream or somethin'?"

The child nodded. "I'm scared," and, after a silent look around, and up again into Yuri's amber eyes, "The monsters are coming," she said.

Yuri looked around, his ears pricked for any sound, real or ethereal, that would indicate something, coming but he heard nothing.

"Don't worry. There ain't any monsters and even if there was, I'll protect ya," Yuri said with a lopsided grin. _Like I did Alice._

_I remember how scared little Sharon and Joshua had been before we got Koudelka free from that prison. Before Halley an' me left, Alice had sat down with the kids and was tellin' them stories. _They had huddled together in the upper bedroom and when Yuri had gone to check on them, he was surprised at the smiles on their faces When he asked about it later on, Alice explained, "It gave them hope."_ Now, what was that story..._. The grip on his arm grew tighter and he could feel the fear coming in waves from the child.

"Ya know, I remember hearing a story once, about a guy named - Danny," he pulled the bundle that was his coat and the child up into his lap and wrapped his arms around them. "See, Danny had made himself real unpopular with some folks, and they had it in for him. They told the King about it. Now the King and Danny were kinda friends, and he really didn't want to hurt his friend, but he tossed his ass into a pit cuz it was the rules, ya know?" In his lap, Bernice was craning her head, staring into the nearby darkness. "But Danny was a real devout kinda guy," _Like my Alice_. "An' he started praying fer all he was worth, cuz this pit, it was full of monsters and terrible beasts that would rend him up and inject their foulness inta him and such." He felt a shiver from Bernice and glanced down at her, seeing her now looking up at him with widened eyes. _Yeah, that's the way. Listen to my story an' never mind the monsters._ "Now the King, he went back to his palace and was worried for his friend and Danny, well he was face to face in this pit with the biggest, nastiest, scariest monster in the world. See the baddest of the bad monsters was Death Emperor and he came out to suck ol' Danny's brains out. But Dan, he prayed and prayed and just when it seemed ol' Death Emperor would suck him dry, God sent him some help. Outta the dark came the great angel Seraphic Radiance, who kicked the old Emperor's ass. And the next day, when the King came ta cry over Danny's bones, well what did he see, but Danny looking all happy and healthy and singin' the praises of his guardian angel."

Yuri glanced down again at the child and caught her wide-eyed look. He bent closer and kissed her forehead.

"Now you go back to sleep, okay? I'll protect ya just like the Seraphic Radiance protected Danny." Little Bernice settled closer, leaning her head on his chest. _That's right. Get some sleep. And let me get a little shut eye too. And God, if yer listening... keep them damned monsters away!_ Yuri too shut his eyes, but it wasn't long before he was opening them again. Time had passed, and the outside dark was deeper still.

_Hmm, must be around three in the morning_, he thought. In his arms, the child Bernice lay unmoving, the gentle rise and fall of her breathing telling him of undisturbed sleep. _So what woke me up?_ He listened intensely for several seconds before he finally heard a soft shuffling sound. _Aw shit, I better check it out._ He put the bundle that was his coat and Bernice onto the damp floor and climbed to his feet, but he had barely taken a step when the shuffling noises came closer. The sweet smells of rot and decay assailed his nose, and as he spotted the jerking shadows in the next room, he heard the squishing sounds of the rotting corpses. _Tsk, zombies._

He had left Zurich without much of supplies, and the only weapon he'd grabbed on his way out were the brass knuckles, mostly because they were small and could fit in his pocket. Bending down, he retrieved these from his coat pocket and put them on, stretching shoulders and neck muscles in preparation, then jumping forward to attack.

"Let's dance," he said with a feral grin and leapt the rotting table, swinging one leg up, slamming it into the first zombie. The metal buckles of his boots hit the rotting corpse hard enough to send the head flying off with a pop of broken bones and severed muscles. The body, unaware that it was headless, kept coming, and Yuri followed through with another kick, sending the body flailing back and into another zombie. With a squishing sound, the two fell to the floor. Behind these two were more, and Yuri leapt into them, legs kicking, arms punching like pistons and using his body like a battering ram. The more he punched, pounded and decimated, the more seemed to come, slithering, sliding and staggering into the little house until, backed up to the kitchen table, he realized there was no way he could take them on and still protect the child.

"Shit," he muttered, and backflipped over the table, landing with a thud next to his coat and the little girl. "Come on sweetheart, we're blowing this joint." He picked up the bundle and held it tightly as he called on his fusion. He didn't bother with those monsters of darkness or light, but went right for the most powerful, yet most benign looking of the bunch. In the next instant, he was surrounded by light and his body suddenly tingled with barely suppressed power. Black wings rose behind him and energy crackled along his arms and legs. He looked down at the little girl holding tightly to him and nodded. "I'll protect you, you'll be safe," he said and his voice echoed strangely in his ears. Then with a flick of his wings, he launched himself upward, smashing through the roof to hover a hundred meters above. He looked down at the writhing mass of zombies in the little cabin and snarled.

"Fuck you," he said quietly. He reached out with one pale hand and gathered energy in its palm then launched it at the ground below. He did not wait to see the results; the deafening explosion of sound told him the story of the zombies' demise. He winged his way across the mountain and down toward Zurich and the little bundle in his arms looked up at him with wide eyes.

"My angel," she whispered and Yuri, the Seraphic Radiance, looked down at her and smiled.

---

Alice awoke with a shiver and sat up in her feather bed. The candle she had left burning on the nightstand had guttered out, and only the smell of wax remained. She listened intently for what had awoken her, but upon hearing nothing more than the continued wind and rain, she pushed aside her bedding and rose. Leaving the unlit candle, she donned her robe, left conveniently at the foot of the bed, and her slippers as well. Then, quietly, she made her way down the hall, past her mother's room, and to the staircase. Here she stood waiting.

_He's coming_, she thought. _I know he is. I can feel his aura – his power. He's been fighting…_

Alice took the stairs silently, holding her robe close as she took the steps. At the bottom she hesitated, then turned toward the vestibule and the front door. A moment later, she could hear scrabbling sounds on the porch and the sudden loud thud as a boot hit the front door.

"Alice! Alice, let me in!" It was Yuri. She quickly threw back the bolt and pulled open the door only to be pushed back by the sudden blast of cold, wet air followed by a soaking wet Yuri. "Move will ya, we're soaked."

Alice moved back, letting him enter before closing the door and following him into the hallway.

"Kitchen, Yuri. I'll light the stove and make you something hot. You must be freezing," she said as she pushed past him and caught sight of his wet clothing spattered with blood and ichor and his coat bundled up against his chest.

Alice bustled past and soon had a pan on the stove heating water as she prepared a hot drink. Glancing back, she spotted Yuri sitting at the kitchen table, his coat now lying on the floor in a puddle of mud and wet and...

"Who is that with you?" she asked

"Oh, sorry," Yuri said with a tired grin. "Alice, this is Bernice. I found her in a cabin I was sleeping in. She was left alone after her folks were killed." He looked at the little girl standing shyly between his knees and pointed up at Alice. "Bernice, this is my lady, Alice."

Alice crossed the floor and knelt by Yuri's knees, looking at the dark haired waif, catching a glint of fear in the dark eyes, which quickly turned upward in a carefully smiling face.

"Are you cold, sweetheart? Would you like a blanket?" Alice asked, carefully brushing back the soft hair from her heart-shaped face. Bernice shook her head and huddled closer to Yuri.

"She's a bit shy I think," Yuri said with a grin, one hand patting the child's head.

Alice nodded and returned to the stove. "Hot chocolate will chase away the cold, with something a bit stronger for you, Yuri?"

"Oh yeah, sounds great! It was really nasty out there."

"What happened? I was worried." Alice spooned chocolate into the pan and added milk, stirring slowly.

"Well, I was coming back and dark caught up to me. I wouldn'ta cared, but it started ta rain and get foggy and... tsk, man I admit it, I got lost." Yuri chuckled softly. "I found this old house all broken and stuff, and that's where I found Bernice. She was left alone when her parents were killed by the monsters."

By now the chocolate was ready, and Alice brought three mugs to the table. Bernice slipped into the chair next to Yuri, her eyes wide with delight at the hot drink. Yuri took his, cupping the hot mug in his hands, feeling the warmth of it seeping into his cold fingers, before sipping quickly.

"Mmmm, hey, that's good," he said and looked up at Alice. "Thanks." Alice nodded, and took the remaining chair. "While we was waiting for the sun ta rise, zombies came out and started attacking." Yuri wiped his lips with the back of his hand before continuing. "I like the whiskey – thanks again. Anyway, I took care of the zombies – well, actually Seraphic did." His grin now threatened to split his face, his amber eyes glittering. Alice chuckled behind her hands, knowing that Yuri enjoyed using that particular fusion probably more than any other. It went beyond the difficulty he'd experienced in getting it. It was the shape and form of it that scandalized most people around him, for Seraphic Radiance manifested itself as Yuri – a very naked Yuri – and Alice felt her own blood rising into her face, flushing her pale cheeks. Yuri caught the blush out of the side of his eyes and chuckled.

Bernice looked up at the two adults, a chocolate smear on her upper lip and grinned.

"Thank you, Miss Alice," she said softly and Alice looked down at the child, her own eyes glittering with happiness.

"You're welcome, Bernice. But what now, Yuri?" she asked and turned to the young harmonixer. He shrugged.

"I think," Bernice said from her chair, "I think I want to go home now."

Alice and Yuri exchanged glances, Yuri raising one eyebrow and Alice slid from her seat, kneeling next to Bernice. The little girl looked at her with eyes of ever-changing hues and Alice nodded silently before taking the child in her arms briefly.

"Whenever you're ready. Everything will be fine, Bernice."

"Yeah," Yuri said. "You'll be safe."

Bernice nodded. "I know. Thank you for protecting me, Mister Yuri," she said. Alice and Yuri watched, as the little girl suddenly seemed to shimmer around the edges, the air around her sparkling and glittering as her body swirled into brilliants that scattered into the lamplight.

"Yeah, take care of yourself, Bernice," Yuri muttered then turned as sound from behind him told of Alice's mother approaching. The older woman stopped in the doorway, staring at the tableau: Yuri sat at the table, while Alice knelt on the cold floor and three mugs sat on the table, one untouched.

"What's going on here?" Mrs. Elliot asked, looking first at Yuri, then to her daughter. "Alice?" Her daughter rose to her feet, pushing the empty chair back to the table.

"Just a little chocolate for Yuri, mother. Would you like some?" she asked and her mother shook her head.

"You know I don't like cocoa." There was more than just chocolate going on and she knew it; she had heard the voices. She looked closely at the table and the three mugs. "Why did you make three? What's going _on_?"

Yuri stood up, a smirk on his lips as he brushed his grimy hair out of his face.

"I got home late is all, Reverend Misses, and Alice was taking care of me."

Alice agreed as she turned toward Yuri. "You did a good thing, Yuri," she said and was thanked by Yuri's mischievous grin.

"Yeah, well, I gotta tell the priest that's the last time I play messenger of God."

"Yuri!" Alice exclaimed, not even trying to withhold her giggles. Her mother, eyes wide, mouth agape at her daughter's willing acceptance of Yuri's rude remark, folded her arms in disgust.

"Well, I'm tired. I'll see ya later. Thanks for the drink, Alice." With one motion, Yuri stepped up to Alice and pulled her into his arms, pressing a kiss to her upturned face. "I love ya, Alice," he said before turning toward the doorway. And as he squeezed past Alice's mother he bent to whisper in her ear, "An' you too, Reverend Misses," and the two ladies could hear his chuckle as he climbed the stairs, leaving Mrs. Elliot standing in silent shock, and Alice with a smile, beaming warmth into the kitchen. After a moment, Alice bent to retrieve Yuri's rumpled and dirty coat, pausing briefly to listen to a burble of childish giggles echoing from beyond, before laying it across the back of the chair.

_Yes, you did a very good thing, Yuri_. "Come on mother, I'll clean this up in the morning."

* * *

A/N A special thank you to my Editor, Metalkatt, who did an exemplary job of red-penciling my lazy butt! You own, woman! 


End file.
